The extraordinary spectacle was witnessed in Dublin last month of whisky flowing into the River Liffey from the vaults at the Custom House, used as a bonded store for whisky and other dutiable goods.
Some time after midnight on April 6 100 Irish volunteers, acting on behalf of the Belfast Boycott Committee, marched to the Custom House Docks at the back of the destroyed Custom House, held up the night guard, and proceeded at once to the two bonded stores containing whisky belonging to Dun-ville's Distillery, Belfast.
Many of the men were armed, and these held guard while the others went through the underground vaults in which the whisky was stored, drove a stave in each cask or hogshead, and let the whisky flow.
They worked throughout the night, and when they had finished there was no cask that had not been burst open.
It was officially stated by the Belfast Boycott Committee that 500,000 gallons of Dunville's whisky was destroyed. Calculated on the present duty of 72s. 6d. per proof gallon the revenue loses nearly $2,000,009 by the destruction.
Dublin Metropolitan Police, who went to the bonded stores to see what was happening when the raid was on, were detained till it was over by the armed guard.
The Belfast Boycott Committee had information that it was intended to remove the' whisky from Dublin, and that a steamer had been chartered for that purpose, but if the steamer comes now the whisky is gone. The stores later presented an extraordinary spectacle of wreckage and confusion.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.